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Export and delivery

AlexPearce3D Studio separates two delivery responsibilities:

  • Comp Export creates files from a Comp graph.
  • Process encodes, queues, uploads, delivers, and notifies through a reusable recipe graph.

There is no separate legacy Preferences automation path. Ordinary Comp export does not silently start a Vimeo, MASV, Discord, or email delivery.

Comp Export

Add an Export node to the Comp graph and connect one or more image branches. Each connected input is a separate deliverable; connecting the last available input reveals the next empty input. Export All Inputs exports the real connected branches in graph order.

The inspector provides:

  • an editable Export Name;
  • a shared filename-template field and variable menu;
  • optional Customize names per input overrides (empty overrides use the shared template; switching customization off retains the saved overrides);
  • per-input resolved filenames, resolution, frame rate, colorspace, and EOTF;
  • Use Cropped Dimensions, project-canvas, source, or custom resolution;
  • ProRes or OpenEXR codec selection; and
  • independent Color primaries and EOTF / transfer choices for movies.

Choose Use Cropped Dimensions to preserve the exact raster arriving at the Export node. A 3840 × 2160 source cropped by 276 pixels at both the top and bottom therefore exports as 3840 × 1608; the removed rows are not padded back into a 3840 × 2160 file. This mode also preserves intentional graph dimension changes such as Uprez. Project Canvas, Match Source, and Custom apply an explicit final conform instead. Hover over Resolution in the inspector for a description of these modes.

Crop is evaluated before Transform, Scale, Position, and subsequent image processing. Cropping changes image bounds without resampling; a later transform or explicit output conform performs any requested resampling.

FrameFix must currently precede Crop because its analysis cannot yet consume a frozen rendered upstream Crop. See Crop and active image area for the supported ordering.

Use OpenEXR for a scene-linear ACEScg master. Movie outputs inherit the evaluated graph/output color contract by default. Either primaries or transfer can be overridden independently; the inspector shows the concrete resolved pair that will also drive pixel conversion, file metadata, and filename variables. Unsupported or unresolved combinations stop export instead of guessing a delivery space. See HDR to SDR delivery for the tone-mapped SDR workflow.

Process delivery

Build-dependent destinations

Process is the reusable delivery workflow. External executors such as MASV, Vimeo, Email, and Discord can be disabled or absent in a development build. Confirm availability before planning an external handoff.

Use the Process workspace for workflow automation. On first use, a Comp Process output creates an editable Untitled Recipe containing only its managed Process input. No delivery workflow is installed automatically. Without a Comp Process output, use New to create an empty recipe.

Use a recipe's context menu to choose Make Default Recipe for the current project, Save as Global Recipe to reuse it, or Make Global Default Recipe for projects without their own default. Making a project recipe global saves a portable copy; the project's existing default remains unchanged.

Build a recipe such as:

Encode → MASV Package → Collect / Wait → Email

or connect an encoded movie directly to Vimeo Upload. Provider connections are local to the Mac and their credentials are stored securely; recipes retain only opaque connection references.

Render and Add to Queue automatically perform the necessary validation and preflight work. If something cannot run, the Process workspace reports the specific node or field responsible instead of requiring a separate manual preflight action.

Movie encoder nodes use the same independent primaries and transfer choices as Comp Export. Their default is Inherit Graph Output. The last enabled Color Space & EOTF Converter on the routed Process branch supplies that inherited contract; otherwise the published Comp output contract is used. An explicit choice on either axis overrides only that axis. This output-color declaration is separate from HDR-to-SDR mapping evidence: only an enabled authored Comp converter that actually ran the HDR → SDR tone map can mark frozen pixels as already mapped. A Process converter never creates that evidence merely by targeting Rec.709/Gamma 2.4, so the movie writer still applies its one SDR fallback shoulder in that case.

Filename variables are shared by both workspaces. {project} is the saved project/document filename without its extension, while {colorspace} and {eotf} come from the resolved output contract. Older saved recipes containing [compname], {compname}, [compame], or {compame} continue to resolve as aliases for {project}, but new templates and menus use {project} only.

MASV

The MASV Package node reports upload progress, delivery creation, completion, or a provider-specific failure. On success, the durable run history records the package information and delivery/share URL. That same canonical URL is emitted from the MASV link output, so it can feed Collect / Wait, Text Combine, Email, or another delivery node.

Vimeo

Vimeo Upload works without a selected folder: Vimeo Library (Root) means the authenticated account’s top-level library. Choosing a destination folder is optional and persists with the recipe. A completed node records the Vimeo video URL in the run result.

Text and notifications

Email, Discord, and other message destinations accept graph text values. Their Message inputs expand as you connect them and preserve display order, adding a newline between values by default. Text Combine is the reusable version of the same pattern and also accepts a MASV link as text-compatible content.

Connected inputs are authoritative. The inspector shows whether a value is connected, pending, resolved, or invalid; its resolved preview is the value used by validation, preflight, queueing, and execution. Inline inspector text remains as the fallback when the pin is disconnected.

Operational notes

  • Queue and run history show durable node-level status for meaningful external work, including completed links and provider failures.
  • Confirm destination paths and output names before rendering. A collision with an output owned by another Process job is reported explicitly rather than silently overwriting a file.
  • MASV storage and transfer charges can apply even when the provider connection is configured correctly.